WRATH
“Wrath is cruel, and
anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?” Proverbs 27:4
Wrath. It means heated rage or hot displeasure. Wrath may seem like an unlikely subject while
the Christmas season is upon us, but one character in the Christmas story
exemplifies this verse – Herod. His
wrath was cruel and his angry response was totally outrageous. Even God removed his Son from the reach of
this king’s envy by instructing Joseph to take his young family into Egypt.
You
know the story. Herod appealed to the
Wise Men with the pretense of wanting to worship the new King, but his real
intent was to dethrone him before he could come to power. His wrath, anger and envy drove him to murder
all baby boys in his realm under the age of two. Outrageous.
But
this is the manner of wrath. It causes
us to lose our balance and sense of reality and justice. All we can think of is our own
vengeance. We strike out in
self-protection or for the purpose of securing our position. People do it at work, in the home, and,
sadly, in the church.
The
Bible is full of examples of individuals who allowed their wrath to drive their
decisions, and with disastrous consequences for themselves and others around
them. The Bible is also full of verses
warning us about wrath and how best to deal with it.
The
trouble with wrath is that it is so closely bound with pride. We don’t even want to admit we are
angry. So we hold it inside. Meanwhile, it is burning its way through in
our words and actions. Eventually it
will be exposed for the cruel thing it really is.
Are
you holding wrath, anger and envy in your heart against someone? What better time than today to let it
go? Forgive – that is the only lasting
remedy for anger – before it explodes.
WRATH
“For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy
slayeth the silly one.” Job 5:2
“For the wrath of man worketh not
the righteousness of God.” James 1:20
Wrath
has a way of provoking us to frustration.
It is a vexation of the soul, an agitation and a violent emotion. It overtakes and makes its mark on our life
and on the lives of those around us.
Job
says it will kill the foolish man and James tells us that it does not produce
good things. This tells me that there
can really be no justification for holding on to wrath.
Yet
how many families are marred by wrath?
You hear stories of Christmases that are completely destroyed by the
anger and envy brought into the home by those who refuse to let it go. Surely there is nothing sadder than a family
who cannot enjoy time together without fear of someone’s outburst.
Oh,
yes, someone did something to someone or said something several years ago, and
no one is going to allow him or her to forget it. Why do we think this is wise? Why do we think that somehow holding on to a hurt
will make better? Do we not understand
that the longer you hold a hot coal in your hand the deeper it burns? The scar will not go away easily, but picking
at it only makes it worse. Again,
forgiveness is the only cure for anger.
You must let it go. You must take
the hot coal out of your hand and apply a healing balm to the wound.
Grace
and forgiveness is the best balm. Grace
that says, “I will overlook the comment.”
Forgiveness that say, “I will let the hurt go.”
This
just might be the best Christmas gift you could ever give to yourself, and to
your family.
WRATH
“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but
grievous words stir up anger.” Proverbs 15:1
“Wherefore, my beloved
brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” James 1:19
“But now ye also put off
all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication our of your
mouth.” Colossians 3:8
One
of the most common ways for wrath to expose itself is in our speech. It doesn’t take long to talk with someone and
discover where his or her pressure points are.
They may be angry with their boss or frustrated with a co-worker. It will come one in their conversation. Some people live their lives angry. Nearly every word they speak is coloured by
resentment. It really behooves us to
examine our core to see if we are living from anger. Sometimes we might even need to ask a trusted
friend to know if our tones of voice or mannerisms are exhibiting this
characteristic.
Nevertheless,
God is clear on how we should direct our speech and how speech is related to
wrath. A soft answer turns away
wrath. Simple. If someone is angry, don’t respond in anger
as well. This only heightens the
emotion.
Then,
we are told to listen better, speak less, and not be so quick to respond
emotionally in anger. Sound advice! You will learn so much more by listening than
by speaking your own mind and allowing emotion to drive the conversation. Matter of fact, I have found that simply
listening without responding means I can take it away, pray over it, and usually
not have to respond at all. I can take
it to the Lord and leave it with him.
Emotions don’t have to drive everything I hear. And people don’t always have to know what I
think.
Finally,
Colossians gives us a list of things we need to simply put out of our life and
speech. The definition of wrath here
means: passion, angry, heat, anger forthwith boiling up
and soon subsiding again. Oh, my, isn’t
that how wrath is? It has an ebb and
tide and is driven by emotion. Reminds me
of the verse in James – the double-minded man is unstable. Allowing anger to be the deciding factor in
our life and speech means that we will always be boiling up and down.
Do you want to live like
that? Or, rather, do you live like that?
WRATH
“A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a
reward in the bosom strong wrath.”
Proverbs 21:14
Christmas
is a time of gift giving. Here God is
telling us that gifts certainly have their place. And in the matter of wrath, they can perform
a definite function. Some commentators
read this verse in relation to bribes, but I believe there is a principle here
that does not hold such a dubious relation.
An
angry person needs appeasement. He needs
help to pacify his anger. It might be a
soft answer or a listening ear, or, it might mean something more tangible like
an act of kindness or a gift.
One
beautiful Bible example is the wisdom exhibited by Abigail toward David. As David’s anger had been violently aroused
by Nabal’s disrespectful rejection, she arose in secret with a gift and a soft
answer full of wisdom to turn away David’s anger and planned action. This was not a bribe, but a gift showing her
sincerity. David praises her for her
wisdom. Her timely gift, given
respectfully, saved not only Abigail and her household, but also David’s
reputation.
And
there is the idea of gifts given to pacify anger. They must be done circumspectly and
secretly. Gifts given openly make a show
of the giver and cause shame to the receiver.
They do not pacify, but intensify.
The gift given must be of sincerity, not in condemnation, and should
never be announced publically. Done
correctly, with the right heart, gifts create the opportunity for reconciliation
and remove wrath.
Is
there someone to whom a show of your sincerity would release wrath from their
life? It isn’t about who is right or
wrong, it is about who wants to make the first step toward reconciliation. Will you be the one to offer the gift?
WRATH
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of
God abideth on him.” John 3:36
“For God hath not appointed us to
wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Thessalonians 5:9
Here
is the real story of Christmas and the answer to eternal wrath. We deserve the wrath of God. This wrath is justified and eternal. It is not cruel or envious. It is not emotionally driven. It is factual. Man sinned.
He deserves punishment.
But
the balm of grace and forgiveness came to us in the form of man to pay the
penalty for our sin and release us from the wrath of God.
This
is God’s plan – God’s appointment, that we should escape His wrath and obtain
eternal salvation.
Here
is also a picture for us. Though our
enemy, friend, or family member may deserve our wrath by their actions against
us, we have the option of appointing them the opportunity by grace and
forgiveness to be released from the penalty.
We can choose to forgive.
Chuck
Lynch wrote a book called, I Should Forgive, but… He goes through the many reasons we tell
ourselves as we try to justify holding onto our hurts and grudges. It is a good read and I heartily recommend it
if you are struggling with issues of anger and unforgiveness.
The gift
of Christmas is proof that the choice of God is forgiveness. “For I
will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more.” Hebrews
8:12
What is
your choice?
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